Out in the Open
by lwdgrl782
Summary: *Sequel to In the Closet* Set almost two years after the events of the first story, older Wilbur's perfect life starts to fall apart, and a mysterious visitor from the future comes to try and make it better and warn him of the mistake he is about to make. (Timecest warning, of course)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Oh wow, it's been so long. I know I said a year ago that I would have a sequel to **_**In the Closet **_**up "soon" but the plot I initially had was flimsy and not worth writing a story on. I revisited the idea, and just came up with the plot I'm going with tonight. I think those of you who loved the original story will enjoy this, even if you may want to kill me at times. That being said, this first chapter will be short and sweet, kind of an introduction with a bit of fluff to catch you up on where we are. Young Wilbur and Young Lewis won't be a part of this story, as we know from In the Closet what happened to them and at this point in time they aren't talking. This story follows the older couples (40s Cornelius and Wilbur and the even older 70s Cornelius and Wilbur [who were introduced in the first fic]). Enjoy.**

Out in the Open: Chapter 1

It had been nearly two years since Wilbur, now forty-seven, had reunited with Lewis, or as everyone else called him, Cornelius, and to say they were happy was an understatement. They made it a point to see each other at least once a week, which was at times difficult because of hectic schedules, the time stream, and the messy situation of trying not to be caught by Franny and the rest of the family. They'd agreed that this time their relationship would be their own, and private. No one needed to know, and being grown men, they didn't need permission to see each other or spend the night together, which they scarcely did except when everyone else was going on a trip and Cornelius could think of an excuse to stay home. When he did get out of trips, it was because he had said he had a huge project to work on, but he didn't excuse himself from trips all the time, because if he did someone would get suspicious.

This rainy night in mid-December, Franny was playing with her frogs at a concert hall as part of an event for a cause neither Cornelius nor Wilbur cared to know about. All they knew was everyone else would be out of the house from eight until about midnight, and they could be alone, but they couldn't do anything that would exert themselves, because Wilbur had to drive back home before the end of the night, and Cornelius once again resented his wife for different reasons.

"We could be doing stuff right now if she's just accepted the offer to stay at the hotel for the night," Cornelius said begrudgingly. "Then you wouldn't need the energy to drive home." He'd realized that if he wanted to control himself it was best to sit up on the bed and not enclose himself in the sheets, because he knew if he did he'd just spend the rest of the night in between them.

"And ruin her sheets again? Honestly, Lewis, be a little considerate." It was a sarcastic reply, but Cornelius sensed that Wilbur was hiding the fact that he was also angry with the situation. Yet, he wanted to play around with their banter a bit.

"Okay, so next time she's not here for the night I'll tell _you _to be considerate and not ruin the sheets." He smiled. It was meant to be slightly flirtatious and he was losing his edge. He flopped down horizontally across the bed and waited for the response he knew he was going to get. They had the lamp on in the corner of the room but otherwise the room was completely dark. Franny had set it up like that after Wilbur was born. Once Cornelius knew he had secured the timeline, and Wilbur existed, he stopped trying to be romantic with her. He didn't miss their nightly encounters, but he sensed she did, and she had initially tried to rekindle the flame by romanticizing the atmosphere of the house. She didn't succeed, and eventually gave up, but the lamp stayed. She said she liked it there.

"You're just trying to be a tease." There was a slight pause. "You shouldn't be. That's my job." Wilbur turned around, and still seated, leaned down and kissed Cornelius's forehead.

"We assigned jobs?" Cornelius asked, actually sounding genuinely surprised.

"Well, we assigned _positions._" Grinning, he rotated around, leaned forward, and this time kissed Cornelius on the lips. Wilbur let Cornelius reach up and use his arms to keep Wilbur's head still so he didn't break the kiss they'd been building up to.

"Younger me really doesn't know what he's missing," Wilbur said, gently pulling away. He quickly remembered that this was the wrong thing to say, but it was too late, and he felt regret as he watched Cornelius's face fall.

"Younger you hates me." It was flat and hopeless. Wilbur couldn't see, but in the dark Cornelius's eyes welled up with tears.

"You know that's not true," Wilbur replied warmly. "He'll come around. He just needs time. We have a time machine to prove it."

"I know, but I miss my son. You don't have children, Wilbur. You don't know what it's like to have your kid hate you." The words were slightly shaky now, and Cornelius felt Wilbur grab his hand as an act of comfort.

"I love you, Lewis." He leaned down to kiss him again, and afterward got up from the bed. He saw Cornelius sit up as soon as he was on his feet.

"You're leaving?" Once again, the voice sounded slightly upset.

"I have to. It's almost midnight and they'll be home soon." He paused and hoped for the best. Now came the question he dreaded asking. "When's the next time you expect them to be gone?"

The room seemed stifling as he waited for a reply. One time he'd waited an entire month to enter the house again, meeting Cornelius for four weeks in the garage for ten precious minutes each time, speaking in hushed tones and trying desperately not to do anything that would be hard to explain should they be caught.

"Tuesday there's another concert, this time at five in the evening. Franny knows I'd never make it there. I work until seven, you know that. I'll give my workers the day off that day and stay home. We just won't tell her that."

"Okay, I'll see you then." Another pause. Then he added swiftly but sweetly as he walked out the bedroom door, "Good night, Lewis. I love you." And as he drove home in the time machine that night, he realized he had never said anything more honest in his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again. So I'm hoping to have a chapter up once a week (probably every Sunday). I was a bit down this weekend. Stuff happened and now my vacation is over and school starts again tomorrow and ugh. Anywho, I'm hoping you like this chapter but you may start hating me by the end of it. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'd also like to thank those of you who read the original story and have returned to read this. Your loyalty means a lot. Enjoy.**

Chapter 2

The ride back in the time machine went quickly, as per usual. Wilbur was already at the Robinson Estate when he traveled to visit Lewis, and since that was his destination also, albeit thirty years in the future, very little driving had to be done. Lewis was always wary about him getting behind the wheel at night when he wasn't fully awake, but when all that had to be done was the simple task of punching in a year, his alertness didn't matter. No driving was involved in this case.

There was a bit of a breeze in the air as he moved the time machine into its place in the garage, but other than that the night was still and surprisingly not cold given the time of year. There was no noise coming from above his head, but it was midnight and the silence did not alarm him. They were all asleep upstairs, and he looked forward to joining them and being alone with his thoughts. He would go over in his head the same thing he always went over whenever he came back from a visit with Lewis. It would have something to do with how messed up the situation was, how it needed to be fixed, and then end with the realization that it couldn't be fixed, and it never would be. They'd talked about maybe telling the family again and making it easier on themselves, but that wasn't what the time stream wanted. They weren't meant to tell anyone and make it public again, having a sort of "coming out 2.0." No, they'd take the secret to their graves.

He took the pure silence in the house as a sign that it would be okay if he just took the travel tubes up one flight and then walked up the stairs to his room. In all probability, his late arrival would go unnoticed. The tubes had been a blessing when he was younger, smaller, and thinner, but they had gotten uncomfortable to go through as he got older.

"...yeah, how are things over there?" he suddenly heard a voice coming from upstairs. He recognized it as Tallulah's.

"Oh. Well, I think he just got home. I thought I heard something downstairs. Yeah, I'll tell him and we'll be there. Yeah. Bye." He couldn't help but notice how upset she sounded, and found that he was suddenly extremely motivated to get upstairs and see what was going on. He couldn't tell why, but the vagueness of the situation, his lack of knowledge, greatly worried him, and the fact that the lights were on upstairs when he got out of the tube only made it worse.

"Took you long enough," Tallulah scoffed. Her eyes were red and it was clear she had been crying, and this anger at him was the result of it. He didn't ask what was wrong. He found that he couldn't, and silence endured. It was an uncomfortable silence and he didn't meet her gaze, and finally she'd had enough. "Well, aren't you going to ask?" She paused then herself and ran her fingers through her hair nervously. Then, with her eyes on the floor, she added, "Your father's in the hospital."

It felt like the world had turned upside-down and he was knocked out of his silence. "What did you say?" It came out lower than he intended. The way he said it, he sounded like a parent who was so furious he'd lost the ability to scream, and instead remained calm.

"Jesus, Wilbur! I said something's wrong and everyone else went to the hospital because your father is sick!" She turned away, so frustrated she couldn't face him. "I stayed here to wait for you and now that you're here we're going to see what's going on."

"Well, what happened?!" It was a shriek that came through tangled sobs he was glad she couldn't see. "Can't you tell me what happened while I was gone? He's my dad and I want to know!"

She turned around, her fists clenched and eyes locked on him in anger. "If you stayed here instead of going out doing God knows what maybe you would know! What's it matter? All that matters is right now he's waiting for you there, asking for _you _and you're wasting time!" Again, she paused, bit her lip, and begrudgingly added, "I was upstairs and your mom called me because he had fainted in the kitchen. That's all I know. He's conscious now but the condition itself, whatever it is, is getting worse. I've been on the phone with your mother and she says they don't know if-" She stopped midsentence, wiped the tears from her face and letting the words settle. She didn't have to finish the sentence. He knew how it would end. She started walking to the door, her coat now on, and as she passed him she said, "You really need to learn how to put your family first."

Entering the hospital, they found Lazlo to be asleep along with Franny's brothers, but Franny was wide awake. She had been waiting. She ran to the door to hug him but Wilbur was tense and didn't return her sign of affection. Pulling away, she looked him straight in the eye and searched for the sorrow she had been expecting to see. It wasn't there. He'd hidden it. His feelings right now were for only his father to see, and he wouldn't show those deep, private thoughts in his head to his mother. She hadn't a right to know.

"Tallulah told you?" Franny asked him the question, but her eyes wandered over to Tallulah before he could answer. Tallulah nodded in response, and his mother's gaze went back to him.

"Come with me." It was a lifeless command, but he obeyed, even though he wasn't doing it for her, but for _him_, for Lewis. "He wasn't awake before but now he is and he's been asking for you. He knows he's sick. He knows he doesn't have much time left to…"

She was speaking but he was drowning her out. He hated hospitals more than the others and wanted to go home. He must not have answered a question she asked or reacted to a comment she made, and she stopped talking until they arrived at the room.

"I'll leave you two alone. You can come downstairs when you're ready." She received no reply and walked away, and he dragged himself into the all-white room.

"I was beginning to think you'd never show up," Cornelius remarked. It was a feeble joke but it made Wilbur smile slightly as he sat down next to the hospital bed.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to see this joke you're pulling off for myself. This is for a new invention, right? I know you discussed coming out of retirement but this…this is extensive." The sudden change in attitude toward the situation was his body's way of dealing with the shock. He went into denial because he saw that it was real.

"This isn't part of an experiment, Wilbur. I wish it was." Cornelius wasn't looking at him and his response was dry and subdued. "I wouldn't play any of you like this."

"What do you mean it's not an experiment?" His voice went slightly higher in pitch as he tried but failed to hide his surprise.

"Did denial kick in before or after you got here?"

"Denial over what?! Lewis you can't…you can't." He got up from his chair and allowed himself to shout. "You can't leave me! How dare you!"

"Don't be mad, Wilbur, please. I wanted you to know. If I never really expressed how much I love you…"

He stopped, saw the effect his words were having on his son as he watched Wilbur's face contort into an ugly grimace as he fell on the chair and burst into sobs.

"Does he know?" Wilbur was able to compose himself long enough to get the question out. His father would understand the meaning of it.

"Yeah, he does. He knew when it would happen. He's prepared."

He heard Wilbur scoff through his tears. "Huh, bullshit. He's losing the love of his life. He's not prepared, Lewis."

"Believe it or not, we discussed this. I knew."

Wilbur's eyes flew open wide and met his father's distant gaze. "You…you knew? You knew you were dying and you didn't tell me? How could you not tell me this!"

"I didn't want to trouble you."

"I thought you said my future self was prepared. If he's so prepared why couldn't you let me also prepare myself?"

"That's not how it's supposed to be." Cornelius's reply was gentle as he tried to calm down Wilbur in his rage.

"Oh, yeah, the time stream, as always. So because you give it to him nightly he gets to know…but I'm your son and live in the same time period. You raised me. So I don't get to know. Something's up with that logic."

"That's not what I meant. You think I want to leave both of you? I wish I could see you one more time…"

"I'm right here, Lewis!" Wilbur broke into a fresh set of tears as the feeling of simply not being enough hit him. He wasn't enough for his dying father because he was just his son, not the one years ahead of him who had earned his heart. "Why am I not good enough for you? Why?" His face stung from his own burning tears and he'd decided he'd had enough and got up to leave. "You know, Lewis, tonight you told me I didn't know what it's like to be hated by my own kid. Well, thing is, I know what it is to be not good enough for my own father."

"Wilbur, please stay." But with one punch to the wall Wilbur left for the time machine.


End file.
